


one step at a time

by SlimeQueen



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Awkward Crush, Chenle just has a huge crush on Yukhei okay, Drabble, First Kiss, Fluff, Holding Hands, M/M, They're both soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-14
Updated: 2018-09-14
Packaged: 2019-07-12 02:43:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15985925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlimeQueen/pseuds/SlimeQueen
Summary: Chenle really hates walking home alone at night. Thankfully, Yukhei is always just one phone call away.





	one step at a time

**Author's Note:**

> bruh i wont even pretend, this is some shit but i'm tryna force myself to write to keep the practice and i highkey adore this ship so??? yeah its awful but i /need/ to write something so  
> Please don't repost my fics anywhere without my permission!

Chenle is in a predicament.

He’s been standing in the hall outside the dance studio for the past nine minutes, phone in his hands, unsure of who to call.

He’d run late practicing by himself, and even the manager had left before him, after he’d assured the older man that the walk to the dorm was short enough that he’d by fine by himself.

Actually standing in front of the door is a different story, though.

The lone janitor is going around the practice rooms and Chenle is standing in the lobby by himself, the lights dim and eerie in comparison to the harsh practice room ones. The street outside is empty, no pedestrians or cars in the vicinity.

 It’s not that he’s scared of the dark- really, he’s not _scared_. He’s nearly seventeen, after all. There’s no way he’d be scared of the dark at his age, especially when the walk to the dorm is less than fifteen minutes if he hauls ass down the street.

No, he’s not scared. He’s _apprehensive_.

The streetlight on the corner a block down has been wonky lately, flashing on and off at random times, and usually, when he and Jisung walk home, they dare each other to go touch the pole or walk around it three times and chant some dumb shit about summoning demons.

He’s been spending too much time with stupid Jisung and his stupid horror games and ghost stories.

Usually, Jisung would be the first person he’d call right now. The managers are technically who he’s supposed to tell, but it doesn’t feel right bothering them about such a trivial thing. He’s not close enough to any of the hyungs, and the other dream members, Jisung included, would laugh and hold it over his head forever.

The only other person he can find on his contacts list is someone that makes his breath speed up. _Wong Yukhei_.

And immediately, he knows to call him. Admittedly, Chenle really, _really_ likes Yukhei. There’s something comforting about the older boy and his loud, easygoing nature. Sometimes he has to remind himself, oh yeah, Yukhei’s the same age as Mark, that he’s this sweet to everyone, that it doesn’t mean anything when he slings an arm around Chenle’s shoulder and calls him a cutie.

He holds his thumb over the name for a long time, working up the courage and trying to formulate what he’d say. Finally, before he can overthink it and jinx himself, he hits the number and presses call.

The ring stirs up his nerves even more. It rings and rings and rings.

“Hello?”

Chenle blinks, suddenly unsure of what to say.

So, very eloquently, he says, “I’m not scared of the dark.”

Yukhei makes a tiny confused noise in the back of his throat. “Okay?” he says slowly, “Thanks for letting me know?”

“Jisung would say I am,” Chenle continues, the rational side of his brain screaming at him, _shut up!_ “But I swear I’m not. He’s just been freaking me out with his weird horror movie obsession.”

There’s some rustling over the phone, and Chenle hears Kun’s voice in the background, soft and muffled. Yukhei’s baritone sounds, away from the receiver as he answers Kun’s question, and then to Chenle he says, “Chenle, are you okay?”

“Uhhh.” _Yeah_ , he thinks, _unless that noise behind me was a demon and not the night janitor_.

“Do you want me to come and get you?” Yukhei says, this time quieter. Away from the chaotic ruckus of the dorm.

“Maybe,” Chenle squeaks, his grip on his phone tightening. “Yeah, actually, if you’re not busy.”

“Busy? Me? Who do you think I am, Mark?” Yukhei jokes, and Chenle laughs along weakly.

“I’ll be there in a bit,” he adds, and then hangs up. Chenle keeps the phone pressed to his ear for a long time.

-

Yukhei gets there sometime after the janitor disappears into his office and leaves Chenle in an eerie silence. He’s sitting on the floor against one of the walls because there aren’t any chairs, and when Yukhei appears in the door and raps his knuckles on the glass, he nearly jumps out of his skin in surprise.

“Hi,” Yukhei grins at him as Chenle presses a hand to his rapidly beating heart and takes a deep breath.

“You’re the worst,” he says in response.

“If I’m the worst, why did you call me to come pick you up?” Yukhei asks, and grins even wider when Chenle doesn’t answer.

Chenle picks up his bag, swings it over his shoulder and mutters, “Let’s get out of here.”

“You must have been working pretty hard if you’re this tired,” Yukhei comments, “And your brain must be fried if you’re really too scared to walk twenty minutes home in one of the safest neighborhoods in this city.”

Chenle’s drenched in sweat, his hair limp against his forehead, clothing stuck to his body whenever he tries to move. “Wait,” he calls to the taller boy, “Don’t tell anyone I was too scared to leave by myself.”

Yukhei turns around, hands shoved in his pockets, shrugs his shoulders once, and gives him a lopsided kind of smile, and Chenle feels his face heat up.

“C’mon, kid,” Yukhei laughs, loud as ever, the sound reverberating through Chenle’s sore limbs, “As if I’d say anything. Give me some credit.”

Chenle crosses his arms tight across his chest, powerwalks to keep up with Yukhei’s long strides. “M’not a kid,” he grumbles, and Yukhei laughs even louder. It makes Chenle’s cheeks flush hotter.

They fall into step easily enough, Chenle taking two steps for each one of Yukhei’s. The night air is crisp, autumnal, and it makes the sweat on Chenle’s skin cool rapidly until he’s shivering, wishing he’d brought a sweatshirt.

“The weather changes too fast in Korea,” he complains out loud.

“You cold?” Yukhei asks, eyes still shining with leftover mirth. Chenle swallows hard and looks away. Yukhei’s skin looks so soft in the golden light of the street lamps, and despite himself, he wonders how smooth and warm it would be under the pads of his fingers.

“A little,” he forces himself to say, tearing his eyes away from the other boy’s face.

“You’re worse than Ten hyung,” Yukhei grins, unzipping his hoodie before Chenle can respond and draping it over his shoulders.

“I’m still sweaty,” Chenle warns, but he’s already instinctively pulling the jacket tighter around him, reveling in the warmth Yukhei’s body left behind. The scent of Yukhei’s cologne clings to the fabric, and Chenle feels some unnamable embarrassing emotion curl in the pit of his stomach.

“Don’t worry about it,” Yukhei says, and slings a heavy arm over Chenle’s shoulders. “Gotta watch out for the maknae, right?”

Chenle hums. Yukhei’s arm is a pleasant weight, and the way Chenle’s tucked into his side lets him leech warmth off the bigger boy.

“So,” Yukhei says conversationally, “Not scared of the dark, huh?”

“I’m not,” he insists, “Look at the light at the end of this street.” He points to the fault light, and to his delight and horror, it lights up right as Yukhei’s eyes land on it.

“So?” Yukhei asks, mouth twitching like he’s holding back a grin. “What’s your point? You can do magic?”

“It’s not magic,” Chenle groans, “It’s demons or something.”

“Or something,” Yukhei drops his voice and says in a mock-ominous voice.

Chenle reaches up to smack his arm, but before he can, Yukhei catches his wrist. Chenle blinks.

Slowly, Yukhei slides their fingers together and holds fast to Chenle’s hand. His fingers are long and thick, the veins in his arm just barely visible as the sleeves of his shirt ride up. Chenle’s own hands are soft and slightly chubby, tiny in comparison.

The corner of Yukhei’s mouth twitches, but he doesn’t say anything. He pushes their joined hands into the pocket of his loaned hoodie and keeps holding on.

Chenle’s cheeks flush warm, half of him ready to pull away, the other half living for the way Yukhei’s strong fingers feel against his.

“No demons,” Yukhei comments, casting his eyes upwards as they pass the faulty lamp.

Chenle mutters under his breath, “They’re probably scared because you’re a giant.”

Yukhei laughs out loud this time, the sound ringing out in the otherwise silent night, and Chenle cringes, looks around to make sure there still aren’t people around.

Yukhei keeps holding his hand the rest of the way home.

It’s only when they’re in front of the apartment building that Chenle takes a deep breath, turns to the older boy. “Thanks for coming to get me,” he says softly.

Yukhei raises an eyebrow. “Anytime,” he says. “Anything for the cutest member.”

“Oh?” Chenle asks, a sudden burst of affection erupting through the shyness. “I’m the cutest? Not Jungwoo hyung? Not Donghyuck hyung?”

“Never,” Yukhei promises, and Chenle flushes in pride and embarrassment.

Yukhei just keeps staring at him, bright eyes and wide smile, and Chenle’s courage leaps up to his chest, flows warmth through his limbs, and before he can talk himself out of it, he surges up to his tiptoes, grabs the front of Yukhei’s shirt, and pulls him down.

Yukhei makes a soft noise of surprise, lips parting automatically, and Chenle kisses him.

Yukhei’s lips are even softer than they look, plush and warm against Chenle’s mouth, and it takes a second of just _contact_ before Yukhei registers what’s happening and kisses back. He winds a hand around the back of Chenle’s neck, cradles the base of his skull, and uses the hand he’s holding in Chenle’s pocket to keep the younger boy close.

Chenle sighs as they part, comes down off his tiptoes, and Yukhei ducks down, gives him another quick kiss that surprises a tiny yelp out of him.

“Huh,” Yukhei says, a grin already fixed on his wide mouth, “Even cuter than I expected.”

Chenle takes a second to steady his breathing, to restart his brain and make his body cooperate. “Okay.” he breathes, “Okay, that just happened.”

“Okay,” Yukhei echoes, “It did.”

“Can it happen again?”

Yukhei grins so bright that Chenle has to look away. “If you want it to.”

“Okay,” Chenle says. Then, before he does something _really_ embarrassing, like telling Yukhei exactly how often he wants to kiss him (the answer being, all the fucking time) he blurts out, “So, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you,” Yukhei calls after him as he hurries into the building.

Chenle smiles the whole way up the stairs and doesn’t even stop when Renjun asks him why he’s grinning like an idiot.

**Author's Note:**

> [twt](https://twitter.com/_johnten)


End file.
